Scientists Deploy Jets, Balloons and Citizen Observers During August 12 Solar Eclipse

Overview

• On Wednesday, August 12, teams from NASA, ESA and partner groups carried out coordinated field operations during the total solar eclipse, using aircraft, balloons, ground stations and space probes to record the event.
• NASA flew jets equipped with specialized cameras to capture high‑resolution images of the solar corona while teams launched meteorological balloons to sample how sudden darkness alters the atmosphere.
• Eighty meteorological balloons were launched in Iceland to create a time line of boundary‑layer changes and additional balloon arrays in Spain collected ozone and 360‑degree sensor data.
• Project TriEclipse enlisted more than 200 citizen scientists in Spain to document animal behavior during the eclipse as part of an 18‑month study that will compare reactions across multiple eclipses.
• Raw data are now being processed to compare direct eclipse observations with coronal and magnetic‑field model predictions from Solar Orbiter and other missions, and scientists say definitive conclusions will await detailed analysis that could improve space‑weather forecasting.